Vijay's 'conspiracy' claim deflects blame, shows political immaturity: Critics

CHENNAI: TVK chief actor Vijay’s video response to the Karur tragedy, alleging a conspiracy, has led political critics to criticise Vijay for “shifting the blame onto the government without any remorse.” Instead of taking responsibility for the deadly incident at the party rally and assuring corrective measures, Vijay sought to garner the sympathy of his fans but failed to rise to the stature of a leader, they point out.

Senior journalist Tharasu Shyam said the TVK leader’s video was nothing short of “shifting the blame” onto the ruling party. However, he failed to take responsibility for the grave mismanagement of his rally. He resorted to conspiracy theories to earn his fans’ sympathy and to excuse himself for not staying back or returning to meet the victims’ families, Shyam said. The total absence of the TVK party in rescue and relief efforts after the stampede also revealed that it has no second- or third-rung leaders to respond to crises, he pointed out.

In fact, the party office has remained closed since the September 27 incident, exposing both their commitment to the people and the “hollow structure” of the party, he said.

Another political analyst, Rajan Kurai Krishnan, stated that the 51-year-old actor-politician had displayed his ‘political immaturity’ through his ‘reckless and irresponsible’ statements. “We all saw the live coverage of the event and what unfolded during the rally, but Vijay is trying to turn the compass against the DMK government and build a narrative instead of taking moral responsibility,” said Krishnan.

He added that the chief of the two-year-old party has portrayed himself as a major force and is attempting to portray the situation as a one-on-one fight with the Chief Minister in the video message. Vijay’s response, he quipped, has dragged down the political culture of the state.

“Vijay had a chance to emerge as a political force,” said Priyan Srinivasan. “But he faltered. This will sow doubt about his leadership among those who saw him as an alternative to the two Dravidian majors. If he had expressed a sincere apology and promised full cooperation with the probe, his stakes would have risen considerably.”